Voting booth



Sept. 24, 1940. F. SCHERER :1- AL.

VOTING BOOTH Filed Aug. 22, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ggvEw LE0 cl 'SCHEFPEI? 'ATTO EYS.

Patented Sept. 24, 1940 STATE IATENT OFFlCE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved folding or collapsible Voting booth.

Such booths are set up at election time for a days use at the various polling places and are taken apart and stored between uses.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for this purpose that is economical to manufacture, efficient in service, and which can be reduced in size to occupy a minimum space when not in use.

Another object is to provide a collapsible voting booth that can easily be transported and quickly set up and taken down. A large number of such booths must be set up and removed for each election in a city of any size.

Other objects and advantages reside in details of design and construction which will be more fully disclosed in the following description and in the drawings wherein like parts have been similarly designated and in which:

Figure 1 is a general elevation of the frame element of the improved booth in its set-up position;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;

Figure 3 is an elevation similar to Figure 1 with the canvas partitions in operative position;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along the lines -fi of Figures 1 and 2; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 3, and drawn to a larger scale for clarity.

In the drawings, to illustrate an embodiment of the invention, a collapsible frame element is designated as a whole, by reference character I5, and is composed of two centrally alined tubular leg members it, that support at their tops a horizontal ridge member ii, on which are removably positioned a plurality of partition members IS.

The ridge member i7! is provided with downwardly extending shanks l9 that are attached thereto by their heads No that are bolted, or otherwise fastened to the ridge element. The shanks removably fit into the ends of the tubular leg members 56 as shown in the drawings, Figure 4.

The partition members i3 are removably and transversely held on the ridge IT, by their respective saddles that are attached to the partition members, and which are concave on their under sides to fit over the ridge member and apertured to receive holding pins 2| that pass therethrough and which are attached firmly to the ridge member H.

The lower ends of the vertical leg member l6 are removably supported by steady shoes 22, havsteady and dependable.

two removable boards 25, have countersunk ink- 1 well recesses 26 and are provided on their lower sides with slide-guide angles 21 that engage angle brackets 28 that are pivoted to the respective leg members [6, as at 29. Each leg l6 has a stop 30 attached thereto adjacent the brackets 28 as 1 by screws 30a, so that braces 3|, one of which is pivoted to each bracket, as at am, may be used to hold the brackets in a horizontal position against said stops 30, the braces being selectively held in their angular supporting position by thumb screws 32 on the respective legs 16 that engage in notches in the braces.

In their horizontal position, the brackets 28 support the boards 25, and when not in use, they and the braces 3| fold or pivot to a position parallel with the leg members, and the boards are removed therefrom, so that all parts can be arranged for easy transportation and storage, in parallel relation to each other in a long relatively narrow carrying box.

In order to provide private individual compartments for a plurality of voters, a curtain, preferably made of canvas or the like and all in one piece, is made with center walls 33 and side walls 34. The side walls are provided with looped hems 35 that slide over the transverse supporting partition members it. The two inner side walls are held down by straps or the like shown at 36, around the brackets 28, while the outer side walls are held down by turn-fasteners or the like, 31, on the ends'of the boards 25. Obviously, while canvas is preferred, the dividing partitions or curtain can be made of any suitable foldable or ro-llable material and by the term curtain in the appended claims is meant any such fabric or other material even including flexible or jointed metal, wood or the like, which may be adapted for the purpose, or paper or other composition.

The improved voting booth can be easily erected and taken down, and when in use, it is It is well designed to meet the herein stated objects and advantages and while this specification discloses preferred means for reducing the present invention to practice and a preferred embodiment of the invention, changes may occur to those skilled in the art and may be made within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A voting booth comprising twosocketed steady shoes, upright tubular legs removably held in the sockets, a ridge member having projecting lugs fitted into the upper ends of the legs and having oppositely projecting pins, partition members having ridge-fitting saddles apertured to slide over the pins for holding said partition members transverse to said ridge, a curtain supported by the partition members, brackets pivoted to the legs, stops on the legs adjacent said brackets, angle braces for optionally holding the brackets in a horizontal position against the stops, and boards held by the brackets on opposite sides of the legs to provide horizontal writing surfaces, each board having undercut channels along its lower surface for sliding engagement with the brackets.

2. A voting booth comprising steady shoes, upright legs removably held in the shoes, a ridge member removably held on the upper ends of the legs and having projecting pins, partition members having ridge-fitting saddles apertured to slide over the pins for holding said partition members on said ridge member transverse thereto, a curtain supported by the partition members, brackets pivoted to the legs, stops on the legs adjacent said brackets, angle braces for optionally holding the brackets in a horizontal position against the stops, and a board held by the brackets to provide a horizontal writing surface.

FRANK SCHERER. LEO J. SCHERER. 

